Gladius Philosophi
by TaurusImperator
Summary: In this world there are no camps. No savior for the demigods. When a demigod hits sixteen he either runs for his life, or his life runs out. Percy, forced to take a foreign language, suspects his teacher is more than he seems. Between chaotic dream and the calling of the sea, he has a feeling that his life are on the brink of a massive change. How right is he. AU. Roman!Percy.
1. I

**Hey guys. An AN will be added in the end of this chapter that explains myself and the background of this experiment, if you care to read it. If not, I hope you enjoy the story. T.I.**

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Gladius Philosophi  
Chapter I

Percy stared at the page before him with a blank look in his eyes.  
"Do I really have to do pick one Ms. Nancy? You out of all the people here know just how messed up I am when writing or reading in English, so a foreign language? I'll die during the first fifteen minutes of class!" Percy exclaimed theatrically, waving his arms as if it would help him get his point across.

"Look Percy," Ms. Nancy started. "I know you don't much care for your English classes, but It's the school's policy that any freshman entering choose a foreign language at the beginner level for at least two terms. I suggest you choose whichever one you find interesting and has any room left, and at least try to learn and have fun. Language is power as I'm sure you were told." She lectured, her gaze directed straight at him. Percy always felt she could pierce armor with that gaze, and it also told him she was serious, and her suggestion was non-negotiable.

After three rather difficult years in this high school, due to his social status and academic achievement – or lack thereof – Percy found himself at the office of the headmaster's assistant, Ms. Ann Nancy, rather regularly. The first time he got there was due to a rather mean prank one student inflicted on another, which he happened to witness, and so was brought to the principal's office to give his account of the incident.

The first question she asked him when she saw him was if he liked the sea. When he asked her why she was asking she just casually remarked that his eyes had the color of the ocean, and smiled wide. And he smiled back. Percy never knew why, but from that moment she said those words, he felt like he could trust her. And so an unlikely friendship emerged between them that on occasion got him out of the more annoying and troublesome aspects of the school year.

Percy sighed and took the paper in his hands once again, forcing his eyes and brain to cooperate in order to read his options with as much accuracy as he could muster after a whole day of dull classes. There was a surprising amount of options for him to pick from, and he wondered just how many teachers they actually had in this school.

Three of them, Spanish, French and Italian were already full, marked with a red line to emphasize the fact. The rest were all rather bland in Percy's opinion. Germen was too aggressive, Japanese or Chinese too confusing, and Hebrew had only two students in it. That'll be a rather easy class with just two students. Then an idea formed in his head. As he scanned the rest of the list, he saw a few languages that had no students in them. Percy smiled internally.

Teachers were obligated to teach a subject even if only a single person wanted to learn a course that was offered in the school. He heard about teachers that simply gave the single student in their class some stuff to read and report to them at the end of the semester and that was it. No homework, no difficulty, and no extra stress.

Percy scanned the languages that were currently vacant of any students. Hieroglyphic Egyptian, Sumerian, and Latin. Three dead languages. Great. Percy found Egyptian and Sumerian to be rather intimidating, so he just wrote his name next to Latin, and handed the form back to Ms. Nancy. To say she was surprised would've been an understatement. _Then again_ , Percy thought, she could be faking.

"Latin, huh?" She inquired. "Mr. Goldberg is new, he came just last year, but no one took Latin last year. A Harvard classics graduate to boot. I've always wondered what brought him here, When I asked he just said he felt a calling to teach here. He's weird, but in a good way. I think you might like him Percy." She pondered.

Percy was a bit taken aback by Ms. Nancy's musing, but now felt relief in knowing that the most he's probably going to do in Mr. Goldberg's classes is sleep and play with his phone. He couldn't wait.

"Okay, now that that's out of the way, can I go home now?" Percy asked.

"Let me just give you the timetable for your classes and I'll set you free." Ms. Nancy promised.

With his classes freshly printed and in his bag, Percy waved Ms. Nancy and exited the headmaster's office. As he left towards the gates of the school where his bike was parked, he noticed it was beginning to get dark. His mom would be worried if he got home late, but Percy felt like the scenic route home today. Getting on his bike, he rode out of the school's gates and towards the steep downhill drive that would take him to his favorite spot.

The wind was particularly strong when Percy arrived at the ocean, barely lit by a dimming line of street lamps that looked about as old as the seashells that he liked to collect on the beach. He put his bike against the pole of one such light, took off his shoes and walked forward, feeling the hard concrete change to soft sand. The sound of the waves hitting the shore comforted him, and smell of the sea breeze made him feel like home. This is where he felt most protected. Most secure.

He couldn't explain it to anyone even if he tried. It was as if the sea was calling out to him, embracing him, wanting him to go inside and never leave again. Okay that might've sounded to dramatic, or even dark, Percy thought. But that was what he felt. In this world and age of social networking, where you could be anyone and fit in anywhere you wanted, Percy felt like he almost didn't belong anywhere in this world. The sea was a different world. He would always belong to the sea.

Percy returned home rather late, and when he got in, him mother was already asleep. On the couch, waiting for him. Percy cursed inwardly. He loved his mom more than anything, but he wished she would treat him as the young adult that he really was. He would turn sixteen this year, and his mom should've realized by now that he isn't stuck in the age of ten. With a sigh, he woke her up, gently tapping her shoulder.

"Mom, wake up. I'm here. Go to bed." He whispered.

"Percy? What time is it? Where have you been?" Sally asked.

"My usual place. I needed to clear my head. Ann needed to see me. Something about a foreign language. Apparently I'm taking Latin. Maybe by next year I could read commercials from two thousand years ago huh?" Percy added with a slight chuckle.

Sally went rigid, her body tensing. Percy could feel it. "Mom... Are you okay?" He asked. But just as soon as he felt her tensing, she went loose again, as if nothing happened.

"That's great honey. I've always told you that knowledge is power." She smiled, albeit rather weakly. Percy sensed something was off.

"I'm off to bed dear, please shut off the lights and lock the door." Sally got up and started heading upstairs, towards her bedroom. "Oh, and next time you plan on freezing yourself on the beach somewhere at least let me know would you?" This time Percy felt her usual sense of humor.

"Sure mom. I'll let you know." He smiled. Sally gave another warm smile and proceeded to go upstairs, and inside her bedroom.

Percy felt something was not okay. He never saw his mom so… afraid? Nervous? He couldn't quite pin the emotion. His mother was calm, collected, smart, and funny. He never once saw her lose her temper or yell at anyone. Just what caused her such a reaction?

Feeling the weight of his sidetrack on the way home hitting his eyes, Percy decided that he'll have to contemplate it tomorrow. He locked up and turned off the lights, climbed upstairs to his room, still painted blue from the time he was just a kid, got on his bed, and fell asleep as soon and his head hit his pillow, not even bothering to change his clothes.

Percy never remembered his dreams. All he always remembered was darkness. A complete and black void of nothingness. But this time Percy Remembered, and he remembered very well. Almost lucidly well.

He was drowning. Well, not exactly drowning. He could breath, and he didn't feel the pull of the water, he felt like he could control the situation in whatever way he wanted. He felt empowered. Then, from within the depths of the sea that he was currently residing in, something stirred, sending shockwaves towards the surface. Percy had no idea what could actually cause such a phenomenon except earthquakes. But this was no earthquake. Percy didn't know how he knew. He Just knew.

It was getting closer, each time a tremor fiercer than the last. It was almost upon him, and Percy now felt nervous. It wanted something. Something he had. It would do anything to take it. It would kill him. Almost upon him. Percy heard an ear piercing shriek, almost roar like, his eyes widened.

Percy stared at the ceiling of his room, completely blue. Almost like the ocean. And it was then when he realized he was wet, almost soaked. And it wasn't water, Percy knew. It was sweat.

Shaken, Percy took a quick shower, and panicked even further when he saw that he was almost late for his classes. His mom wasn't happy when he was late, and he wasn't happy that his mom wasn't happy.

He arrived in school with just a minute to spare. And so the tedium of the day started all over again, in an almost never-ending cycle of math, biology, chemistry, American history and much more. By the time it was time to head home, he was completely out of it. And then he remembered. He still had Latin left. Percy groaned.

Making his way for the assigned class for Latin, he was already thinking of what the teacher, Mr. Gold-whatever might give him to pass the time in class after seeing that he only had a single student.

He opened the door, it's hinged squawked, alerting anyone inside of his arrival. Inside the classroom was a man. But he didn't seem like a regular teacher, Percy mused to himself. He was tall and clearly athletic, spurting a solid build. His hair was dark and curly, and it appeared he was writing his name on the blackboard. His full name was apparently Mark Goldberg, and he was teaching an "Introduction to the Latin Language" as was written in a clear and neat handwriting. If Percy hadn't seen this man write it himself, he would've thought that it couldn't be a man's handwriting.

Realizing that he was still standing in the entrance to the classroom, Percy decided to take a seat in the middle row. The man finished writing and turned around to address the class. When he turned around Percy was once again surprised. The man had a neat and curly medium length beard, reaching his chest. He wore a purple sweatshirt and dress pants, all in all a rather bizarre outfit. But that wasn't the reason of Percy's surprise.

What surprised Percy most of all were the man's eyes. He couldn't say he saw them before but something about them yelled at him to respect and listen to this man. That he held importance and gravitas, and was to be obeyed without question. Then, when the mysterious Mark Goldberg opened his mouth and spoke to Percy, Then Percy felt truly and utterly confused.

"Salve, discipulus. quis es?" His tone was as commanding as his eyes.

"Umm… What?" Percy replied.

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 **AN:  
Hey guys and girls.  
** **This is my first ever attempt at fanfiction. After reading several AU's about Percy being roman, I found that he usually gets too strong as he is beginning his adventure with the Romans only in "The son of Neptune". This is an attempt to make Percy a more mature and rounder character that starts slow and ends up a legend through development and learning.  
As such, the first few chapters are going to be a bit expository, and not much action in them. I assure you that action is coming, and it'll hit hard, but in order to make the world move you need to build a world first.  
Hope you enjoy, and I'll see you on the next chapter! T.I.**


	2. II

**AN: Hey guys. AN at the end as usual if you feel like it. Hope you enjoy. T.I.**

Note: **Bold** = Foreign Language.

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Chapter II

His teacher still seemed to be waiting for an answer as Percy remained silent in his chair. He wanted to look away, or stare at anything else to ease the tension he felt, but the commanding eyes of Mr. Goldberg left him no room for escape.

Finally, his teacher let a sigh and what sounded like a slight laughter. "Well, I guess this _is_ introductory Latin, and I was guessing you knew at least a little bit about the language if you came to study, but alas I was mistaken." Every word he spoke was clear and articulate, having no sense of doubt or double meaning. Percy didn't know why, but he felt almost compelled to listen to this man.

"Look, Mr. Goldberg," Percy started after feeling he had to come clean about his intentions and problems. "I have ADHD. I'm bad with reading and languages in general. I took this class because I thought that you wouldn't bother teaching a class that had only one student. I'm sorry and I would understand if you wanted to kick me out to some other foreign language class. I'll just pack my stuff and go." Percy finished, having told him way more than he ever first intended. Why he was so compelled by him, he had no idea.

Percy got up and was about to take his bag and go tell Ms. Nancy that he would just find some other language and fail miserably when Mr. Goldberg talked to him again. And again, he was compelled to listen.

"You told me about the reason you're here, the problems you face, and your hopes for this class, but in all of this, you never even mentioned your name, my anonymous student." Mr. Goldberg stepped away from the blackboard and started walking towards Percy, his stance straight and graceful, almost like a dancer. Maybe he ran side gigs for the school's ballet clubs?

"And please, just call me Mark. Mr. Goldberg just makes me feel my age." He gave a slight smile, but Percy knew that with his looks he couldn't be over thirty. Was this a joke of some kind?

"Oh… Okay then… Mark," Saying a teacher's first name felt weird for Percy. "My name is Percy. Short for Perseus. You know, the mythological hero and all?" Percy at least felt that he should give the teacher the basic respect and tell him his own name.

"Ah Perseus. A grand name. One that is filled with promise and adventure. But also danger." Mark mused, smiling slightly once again, as if he was in on a secret joke about him that Percy had no idea of.

"You say that you have a hard time to write and read English, yet you speak it well enough Percy. Tell me, did you know that about sixty percent of the modern words in the English language come from Latin?" Mark asked, suddenly changing his tone to one more suited for a lecturer.

Percy knew that English and other romantic languages were based on Latin, but he had no sense of the scale. Sixty percent was one hell of a scale. As he pondered, Mark once again reached the blackboard, marker in hand, he wrote a word on the board.

"Tell me Percy, what word do you see here?" Mark asked, as he moved out of the way for Percy to be able to see what was written.

Curious, he stared at the word that was written on the board, and his breath was held. The letters didn't move. They stayed where they were, not trying to evade his eye to brain connection. He could read it perfectly and instantly. And even more shocking was the fact that he knew what it meant.

On the board, in capital letters alone, was the word "VERBVM". He stared at the board, then back to Mark, then back to the board, and so on until he saw the little smile on Mark's face expand into a full blown grin.

"Well, your answer, Percy?" Mark questioned.

"VERBVM, pronounced _Uerbum_. Literally means word." Percy didn't know how he knew, he just did. "What kind of black magic is this?" He asked.

"Very good. Now, do you know what word the Romans took most seriously out of the rest of them?" Mark questioned again, ignoring Percy's comment.

He expected some sort of epiphany or divine intervention, just like in the way that he knew how to read, pronounce and translate the Latin word, but it seemed that whatever god watched him decided to take a quick coffee break.

"I'm sorry sir, I have no idea." He admitted, feeling somewhat down after the last experience he had with the word.

"Eh, don't worry about it. I saw your history curriculum, horrible stuff really. No wonder you guys get killed so easily." Mark remarked. "Anyway, sit down Percy, we have a lot of ground to cover. Lucky for you you're my only student so we can advance in your studies faster than most."

Get killed? What was that all about? As in killed in exams? Percy felt a bit lost, but as he continued to watch the word on the board, expecting it to suddenly betray him and start moving into an unreadable, incomprehensible mess, he was let down. The word stayed there, static and readable. And that excited him beyond anything he ever felt before. He hurried and sat in the front row, in front of the board at full attention, ready to learn. Wow. That was new.

"We cannot learn anything new without first inspecting and understanding its history. The twists and turns of time change a lot of aspects about our understanding of things. To know history, is to know everything." Mark once again adopted his lecturer tone. "Tell me Percy, what do you know about the history of the Roman republic?" Mark asked.

The rest of the lesson flew by for Percy as he found himself more and more entranced with Mark's teachings. He was very meticulous, went down to the most minute detail about every single aspect of the history of Rome and its people. Their inception and the myths of Romulus and Remus, and of Aeneas of Troy, through the seven kings that ruled over them, and into the rule of the people in the form of the republic or 'RESPVBLICA' as Mark had written on the board.

When his teacher looked towards his watch to check the time, it was like Percy was snapped out of a deep trance. "That's all the time we have today Percy. Tomorrow we'll continue out little prologue to the people whose language we're learning." Mark got up, wiped the board clean and proceeded to open the classroom door.

"Mr. Goldberg, I have a question." Percy noted, quite to his surprise. He never asked questions in class.

"I told you, call me Mark. And I assume this was rather a lecture than an active lesson we just had, what do you want to ask?" His teacher seemed to scan the hallway for some reason before turning towards Percy again.

He wanted to ask how it's possible for him to read Latin so clearly and without problem, but he decided that asking such a question was meaningless. What would a Latin teacher know about ADHD disorders? So he picked a different, more simple question.

"How old are you?" Percy almost mumbled. When the realization hit him that he actually asked such a thing, he wanted to slap his face with his hands. "I'm sorry that was stupid of me you clearly don't have to tell me anything that personal." He quickly added, trying to save himself at least some embarrassment.

He expected Mark to leave and close the door behind him, but that never happened. Instead, Percy only saw a wide grin on his teachers face. But that was no ordinary grin. That was the grin of a person that knows something that you don't, and that usually wasn't a very good thing in Percy's experience.

"How old do you think I am?" He asked back, his mysterious grin never leaving his face.

At this point Percy really had no idea how to retort. What was this weird game they were playing? Whatever it was he felt like his teacher currently had an ace up his sleeve for poker, while Percy was playing a whole different game, like checkers, or Settlers of Catan. Not the same game at all.

"Um… Thirty-five?" He finally replied after a rather long and still silence. The grin on Mark's face never left. If anything, it only grew bigger as if mocking his sorry attempt to answer.

"Thirty-three since last week Percy, thank you for asking." The grin turned into a smile and then into a full blown laugh as his teacher's voice carried down the school's hallway.

"You really are amusing Percy. I didn't expect that. It's time to go. And please, don't get eaten up by monsters. That would be rather a shame in your current state. I still have much to pass onto you. **Ave, Perseus.** " Mark smiled once again. He even winked and then exited the classroom, probably towards the teacher's lounge.

Percy just stood there inside the classroom, still boggled by the honesty and weird nature of his teacher's retort. Don't get eaten up? What was he a five-year-old? Shrugging, he packed his things and headed towards the school gate.

When he got home, Percy booted up his old and rather beaten up laptop computer and started searching for his teacher online. Percy felt rather bad for suspecting his teacher, but still, that air of mystery around him compelled Percy to complete the missing parts that he felt just weren't connecting.

The search proved to be rather stale and one sided. The man was a genius. A Masters at philosophy and Ph.D. at classics and ancient history, and he was only thirty-three! Percy suspected he might be lying. Percy then tried to find more information about the personal life of his teacher. And that's when things got weird.

No official date of birth, no mention of parents or family, place of living before the start of his college education or any other information was available through his search. Was it possible in this day and age to actually not know anything about the early life of anyone? Percy found his suspicions, and the air of mystery around Mark Goldberg's being increase with every hit of a key on his computer.

Pictures of Mark showed him accepting awards, receiving his degrees and there was even a YouTube video of him debunking that weird History Channel show about ancient aliens, which was quite entertaining for Percy. As he got back to the image search, an image he never noticed appeared.

It was blurry, probably taken from a low quality mobile phone camera. But even with such a low quality Percy could identify the face of his Latin teacher. The picture depicted him looking at a huge pillar that looked like it was made of white stone. Percy thought it was limestone at first, but the pillar looked old, and limestone wouldn't hold for such a long time. On the pillar were engraved countless images, depicting animals and humans, but Percy couldn't tell exactly what was going on due to the low quality of the photo.

What Percy found even stranger was the expression on his teacher's face. He looked a little younger than he was currently, but his eyes, his eyes seemed to hold the soul and image of a man even older than the old pillar he was staring at. Percy wasn't sure what emotions his gaze held, but somehow he felt something along the lines of… Remorse? Anger? Sadness? It was a vortex of emotion, one so deep and complex Percy couldn't possibly unravel its true meaning.

Sighing, and noticing it was getting late, Percy closed his computer, took a shower and changed, and got to bed. The questions in his head never leaving him.

And Percy dreamed.

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 **AN:  
Hello all! And welcome to another installment of Gladius Philosophi.**

 **A few things I forgot to mention last time:  
** **1\. I am a Uni student of general history. Updates will be coming hopefully regularly, but according to my exam schedule there could be slight delays. Expect updates every day/three days/week.  
2\. English is _not_ my native language, and I currently don't have a Beta. Sorry in advance for any error in spelling/grammar, even though I do try and go through and fix everything before I post.  
**

 **Things are starting to get interesting. Poor Percy and life's mysteries.**

 **See you on the next one!  
**

 **AVE!  
T.I.**


	3. III

**Hey boys and girls! Sorry I'm late, AN at the end as usual. Enjoy. T.I.**

Note: **Bold** = Foreign language.

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Chapter III

Percy found himself standing in a rather large tent. It wasn't the sort of a tent you'd take to your annual family camping trip either. It was made of several sheets of cloth connected together with large wooden pole between them, and the tent was large enough to house at least a dozen people comfortably.

The next thing that caught Percy's attention was the sheer opulence of the place. For a tent, it wasn't too shabby. Wooden furniture including tables, chairs, a large bed and a sizeable trunk were only the few things that Percy saw. The craftsmanship was superb, and the artistry on the furniture itself was extremely detailed, showing figures fighting, marching, and what appeared to be a position of praying. Percy concluded that this couldn't be anywhere modern. Damn his weird dreams.

The next thing that caught Percy's attention was the man he saw, sitting near the table. His made Percy feel… insignificant. It was clear to Percy that this character, whoever he is or was, radiated strength, wisdom and courage. The man wore what looked like heavy armor, and from the back, looked to Percy to be not too young, but not too old.

Percy noticed the figure had some sort of a writing quill in his hand, and was writing in an on and off pattern. Once almost manically fast, filling a whole page within minutes, and once calmly, almost meditatively, stopping after every word and thinking about what word should come after the one he wrote for it to make sense. There was something that resonated with Percy as he witnessed the scene, it was almost like a trance.

Curiosity started to bubble within him. He wanted to know who this man was, what he was writing about, what was this tent, when was this tent. So many unanswered questions. Percy almost didn't notice the man putting down his quill, and standing straight. His poise was firm and tight, almost regal in a sense, and as he started turning around, Percy could feel his heart start to race. He could finally see the face of the writer, maybe he could even ask questions. It was his dream after all.

There was a noise outside the tent. Percy turned around to see what was the source of the noise, and as he turned, he froze. At the entrance of the tent was a large pole, a little taller than his own height, and atop of it, stood a golden eagle, spreading its wings. Announcing its presence. The golden eyes of the eagle bore into Percy's like the stare of a lion at his prey before the chase, almost predatorily. The only thing Percy managed to see before everything turned to black once again was a red banner that was hanged on the pole, just below the eagle. It read **IX**.

Percy almost jumped out of the bed as he awoke, sweat covering his body. His breath was fast and rapid, and his heart beat hard. These dreams really had to stop. Taking a few deep breaths, Percy calmed himself somewhat and checked the time. It was almost six in the morning. What a great was to start the day, Percy thought.

He took a shower. There was a saying on the internet that you get the best ideas while you're in the shower. For Percy, it was more than that. The water made him feel focused, energized, full of life. That's why he liked to swim. And take long showers, he almost wished he could live his life underwater. No stress, no expectations, and no annoying school to get up to every single morning. Sounds like heaven.

The walk this morning was as every bit as usual as always, except the fact that he felt like he was being watched. Again. Percy searched his peripheral vision the whole trip, but found nothing unusual. Could his mom really be _that_ protective of him and actually follow him around to school. Percy scoffed at the thought.

The school day wasn't anything exciting for Percy, but he found himself expecting Latin a lot more than he expected when he signed up for the class. A teacher never really made Percy feel connected to a subject, maybe it was due to the teacher, maybe it was due to him and his ADHD, but the feeling of expectation was truly new and refreshing for Percy. He liked it.

Entering the class, he noticed Mark was already there, and reading what seemed to be a rather battered book, its cover bruised and seemed to be late in the process of aging. It wasn't a large book, but Percy knew it must've been old.

As soon as he saw Percy heading inside, Mark closed the book, put it inside of his bag and closed it, smiling towards him. **"Salve, Perseus."** Mark said with a clear accent that was different from when he spoke English.

Percy decided to properly greet his teacher in Latin, they went over the basic greeting of hello and goodbye, and it might be on the test, so Percy might as well try and practice a little. " **Salve…"** Percy realized that he had no idea how to say his teachers name in Latin, so he just stood there, stuck like a tree, trying to think of something useful to say that was clearly avoiding his mind currently.

Mark gave a slight chuckle. "Well, you did the first part well enough." Mark commended. As for the rest, you get to pick. In Roman times, students would address their teacher as **magister**.

"But," Mark sighed dramatically, "Sadly we are still in this gods forsaken place. Only they know why the shift of power moved from Italy and Greece. A shame."

There he went musing again, Percy thought. Always saying the weirdest and most unusual things. The sigh was dramatic, of course, but Percy couldn't help but feel as if the sigh had some weight of authenticity in it. The mystery continues.

"And so, you have the choice of using my Latin name, **Marcus**." Mark said.

"Right, **Marcus**. I'll keep that in mind." Percy replied.

" **Bene.** " Mark complimented. Percy again somehow knew the meaning. Good.

Mark took out a writing sharpie out of bag and went towards the blackboard, beginning to write.

"Today, Percy, we are going to talk about…" He never finished the sentence, as if keeping the tension in the air for the big reveal of his wide strokes of the sharpie, but when he finished writing and turned around like an artist presenting his masterpiece, Percy found he could read, but not understand. And that shook him. The reason for that was, that the word that was written on the board wasn't in Latin characters. Percy recognized them from all the stupid frat house parties that were usually going on and that he paid no attention to.

" **Mythologia**." Percy almost whispered, too stunned to actually raise his voice, yet somehow Mark seemed to have heard him.

"Exactly! **Mythologia**. Now, can you guess why we have the **I** and the **A** at the end, Percy?" Mark questioned, seeming excited.

"You mean the Alpha and the Iota?" Percy asked.

It was only for a second, a mere instance in time, but Percy could swear he saw Mark's eyes dilate just a bit, and his expression almost shocked. But it was merely for a second. In a flesh Mark turned around and started to wipe down the Greek word he wrote on the board, switching it with its Latin lettering.

"Do forgive me Percy. Sometimes I just don't pay enough attention and my automatic mind writes in the native language of the word. You should have seen my professors; they almost went mad." Mark said as he wiped the board and wrote on it a second time, his shoulders still seemed somewhat stressed to Percy.

But he wasn't focused on the musings of his teacher. He was slowly processing the information that he could read both Latin and Greek characters with no seeable problem. Just what the hell was going on? He saw Greek words before, and felt extreme sympathy with the saying "It's all Greek to me." But now he could read Greek alphabet? Was this another part of his dream?

"-ercy... Percy, are you listening to me?" Mark's question tore Percy out of his thinking.

"Um… Yeah sure Mark. You were saying something about your professors and university and whatnot." Percy was still somewhat distracted, but hoped he could still make it up.

"Right… So I guess we're not quite ready for mythology yet. It's okay, I myself had a hard time grasping it as well." Mark said with a grin. "We'll start the day with a little fact of trivia Percy." His teacher announced, and Percy raised his hand.

"Yes, Percy?" His teacher asked.

"What do you know about a Roman column, really tall with a lot of scenes on it? I saw it once in a picture and thought to myself what it was." Percy had to know, to connect the picture he saw with the character of Mark. There were simply too many unclear questions, and for once Percy wanted some damn answers.

Mark again seemed a bit taken aback, but only for a moment. "Ah… I know what you're talking about. I based my thesis on it. You're referring to the column of Marcus Aurelius, aren't you?" He asked.

Column of Marcus Aurelius? What was that? Was that really the tall column he saw when he found that old and pixelated picture of Mark online? He was finally about to get some insight to the inside of his teacher's head.

And then the phone rang. It came from Mark's phone. Percy wished this was a cruel test of some kind of cruel being, and that his teacher would ignore the ringing, but alas, Mark took the simple dial phone and answered.

The conversation was quick and hushed, and by the end of it, it was clear to Percy that something was up. Mark closed the phone and put it back in his bag.

"I'm sorry Percy, but an emergency came up, and I have to take care of it. I'll send over today's practice sheets and I expect you to complete them for our next class." Suddenly the air around Mark made Percy feel on edge, as if he was about to get attacked at any minute. Mark took his bag and left the classroom, never sparing his student a second glance, and leaving him with even further questions and frustrations.

Percy honestly thought that fate had a nice laugh every time something he was doing was getting messed up, and left him seeking answers. The whereabouts of his father, the strange dream that he was having, and now the enigmatic teacher that suddenly appeared before him. Fate must be rolling on the floor laughing right now.

Feeling frustrated and honestly rather annoyed, Percy sighed deeply, took his things and left the school, heading towards the long way home, to the road that went through the sea. The sea was his sanctuary, his safety and a quiet place for him to think, and he needed that right now.

He saw the beach a mile away, and it already made him feel better. As he got closer, the sea breeze, fresh ocean air and the smell of salt made Percy feel a wellness and rationality that he had a hard time finding an explanation for.

Heading deeper, Percy knew of a place not many people knew of. There was a platform of rocks that was rather well hidden, and continued a bit inside the ocean. You could stand atop the rocks and stare at the waves crashing against them, spraying you with droplets of the ocean, like soft kisses.

When he arrived there Percy almost let out the biggest sigh he ever thought possible. Standing there, almost on the edge of the rocks was a girl that seemed to be right about his age, maybe older, he couldn't tell from the distance. She turned around, saw him, and started advancing towards him. Acting like he never saw her was impossible, as her eyes caught Percy's when he first saw her, and he once again felt nearly entranced, as if her eyes were pulling him towards her.

Add another joke to fate's ever growing stand-up comedy act.

* * *

 **AN:**

 **Hello there people! I'm glad to see that people are enjoying and reviewing my story. It means a lot.**

 **As for my lateness, exams are upon me, and getting ready for Latin and Ancient Greek is fun and not fun at the same time.**

 **Expect the next chapter a little sooner (hopefully).**

 **Hope you enjoyed, and see you on the next one,**

 **T.I.**


	4. IV

**Hello people! AN at the end as always. Enjoy!  
T.I.  
**

* * *

Chapter IV

The girl never stopped, even when she spotted him, and when her eyes met his Percy felt some sort of tension building, making his body taut and ready to react to any sort of situation that might occur. But, behind all of the readiness and anticipation, Percy also felt something else. A sort of connection he couldn't explain. Like the safety you feel when you walk around with a friend or parent, a sort of bond. As her eyes finally let him go, his stare was finally free to arrange her image.

She wore a purple blouse and simple blue jeans, slightly ripped around her knees. Her hair was the color of the night and her eyes like shiny obsidian, ready to cut with a stare. Percy never knew he could think in such a poetic way, but didn't ponder on it for too long. Maybe those history lessons with Mark made him feel a little old fashioned. _Extremely_ old fashioned.

The next thing Percy noticed was her supple light caramel skin and her rather athletic build if her jeans didn't lie to him. A runner, perhaps. But the weirdest thing that occurred to him was the air around her. An invisible wall of concrete. He felt like if he'd try to get anywhere near her he would be blocked mid-step by a force field that would shut him out. Just who was this girl? Percy wondered.

She got ever closer to him, close enough for him to reach a hand, and even talk to her. The girl, sparing him another glance now that she was closer, went around him and continued walking. Passing him and heading towards the streets above, leaving Percy alone with the view of the calm ocean and the golden setting sun. Talk about anti-climactic.

Percy turned around and watched her continue walking, her steps feeling almost deliberate to him. Her silhouette fading away.

Thus far Percy felt rather content with his life. Apart from some minor problems and annoyances his life was rather peaceful. It could've certainly been worse. He had a mother that loved him, a home and a nice room, and he was finally getting into a subject at school that he found bearable and even interesting, especially with the added mystery of his random and odd teacher. Percy felt happy.

But of course that fate has a way of messing up Percy's life whenever he felt too good, or things were going too much in his way.

It was getting dark, and Percy was still sitting on a large rock on the edge of the ocean, trying to piece together the strange occurrences that were constantly creeping up on him lately. It was the last day of the month, and the full moon greeted him as it started to rise on horizon, washing Percy and the surrounding beach with a soft calming light.

As his thought ran again and again in his head, Percy failed to notice the ever rising moon reach the pinnacle of the highest point of the zenith, but at the moment it did, what happened next sure did get his undivided attention.

His thought ran from Mark to the mysterious girl that he saw, when the waves began to pick up. At first gently and over time. Small waves that lapped at the rock got a little more violent, adding speed and beginning to crash harder against the rocks, sending drops of sea water all around.

The droplets that hit Percy seemed to have severed his line of thought, and got him back to reality. And that was the moment he saw just how close the moon was. It was unnerving and spectacular for him at the same time. The moon, now seeming so large that it almost covered the sky, lit the area in an intense light. Percy wondered if people were taking photos, and then remembered that it might be the lesser information he needed to know right now.

The waves grew ever more violent, now becoming as tall as Percy and hitting the shore like a sucker punch to the face, which made Percy move back even more, running from the large rocky platform towards the relative safety of the beach.

Percy thought he might be dreaming again, so he pinched himself and yep, definitely real life. Another large wave crashed, taking a large chunk of the rock with it. Percy was starting to get a bit scared, if not panicked.

In the horizon he saw an even larger wave coming, intimidating and stronger than the ones before it, and he knew that if he was anywhere near the beach when it hit he was done for. No more genius Latin teachers of intimidating-yet-somehow-cute obsidian eyed girls for him. And so he began running like his life depended on it. Because they _really_ depended on it at the current situation.

Percy was no Olympic runner, but he was in an okay shape and could outrun a few people if he really tried. As he ran he felt that weird feeling he got whenever adrenaline was pumping throughout his body. As if he was faster, stronger, sharper and all around better when he was in this state. He felt like he could take on a truck head on and make it out alive. A good thing too, because just as he had the thought, the wave hit him straight on like a ton of bricks.

At first it felt as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders as the massive torrent of water hit him. And as the wave drew him back, he tumbled across the sandy floor, making him disoriented and confused, as well as painfully aware that he received several bruises in the process. Definitely no dream then. Not cool, ocean.

The shore got further and further away, and Percy tried to hold whatever breath was left in his body inside of his lunges as he didn't really feel like drowning at the moment. He tried his best to use his body to swim away back towards the shore, but a current only drew him further and further away, towards the depths.

Percy was now in full panic mode. He was having trouble holding his breath any longer, and he had no idea how far he was from the shore already, as the strange current took him away.

He was on the verge of passing out when he saw it, and whatever breath he had left in his body was taken away. There - in whatever part of the ocean he was in – sat on the ground near a large coral reef, was a massive, glowing and literally breathtaking woman.

Sitting near a massive coral reef, he saw schools of fish and other aquatic creatures amass around her, swimming near and around her. The clothes she wore seemed to Percy somewhat outdated, like the clothes he saw once in a picture-book about Greece and Rome.

Her skin was white as marble, almost statuesque. On her head there was a crown of some sort, made of… leaves? Percy didn't know for sure. Her weird clothes were white as well, and her eyes were closed. Percy wondered about that. And yet somehow, as the current got him closer to her, and small fish started come towards and swim near him, the woman's closed eyes seemed to be entirely focused on Percy.

The next thing that Percy felt, as soon as the woman "looked" towards him was sheer power. He felt it in every fiber of his being. Whoever this woman was, she wasn't human, and Percy's senses told him to run… or swim, as far away as he could, or he'd die faster than the amount of time it took him to blink. Duly noted.

The woman's mouth, that was about four times bigger than Percy, opened and she began to speak. " **Hear me, Perseus Jackson. A great fate lays on your shoulders. The gods count on you for survival. Hear my words, and proceed to your destiny. So proclaims Alethea:"** The giant woman said, and Percy understood, although it sounded like English to him, he knew that this couldn't possibly be English. As so he listened to the rest.

 _ **"The city eternal again shall rise,  
To save your kind from their demise.  
The olden crown of golden leaves,  
Will seek truth from the one who gives.  
The son of the sea it holds at bay,  
The sword of the philosopher that leads the way."**_

As the woman spoke, it seemed to Percy as if all has gone still. As if the world stopped whatever it was in middle of just to listen to this lady giant spit some rhymes that made no sense whatsoever. As the woman finished speaking, Percy finally noticed something else. He was breathing.

Now, that would've been all well and good if he was currently on land, preferably on his bed, and dreaming away another weird dream that involved golden eagles and being drowned. Speaking of, apparently dreams _do_ come true if you really believe. Oh happy day.

But no. He was in the middle of the ocean for all he knew, and he was breathing just as fine. He never got around to contemplate the idea too much, as the woman started glowing ever more radiantly. It got to the level that it was almost blindingly bright, and so Percy covered his eyes, and as he felt a surge of power go through him, he screamed.

When he woke up, Percy was strewn back on the beach. The sounds of gentle waves lapping against the shore made him feel peaceful, yet somewhat anxious after what he just went through. Taking a deep breath, Percy was happy to note that the air was still air, and it filled his lunges fully, just like any normal human being. He looked up towards the sky, to see the same normally sized full moon that always adorned it, and he let out a sigh of relief.

At first Percy thought that it might've just been another dream, and he just fell asleep on the beach after thinking and not noticing it, but then, as he got up and started heading home, he noticed something that definitely wasn't there beforehand.

He first noticed it when he moved his hands in order the clean his now sandy outfit and hair, when his left hand passed in front of his face and he from the periphery of his eye he saw that there was something on his hand.

He thought it was a seaweed, or maybe a shell that somehow got on top of his hand, but as he reached his other hand for it to take it off, Percy felt nothing but the cool skin of his wrist. He turned his left hand toward him so that his inner wrist was facing him, and was again left speechless, a trait that was somehow chasing Percy for a while now.

Adorning the inner side of his left wrist, there was now a drawing of a black trident, with the word **S.P.Q.R** written below it. Dumbfounded, Percy tried to wash it off with water from the sea, using his shirt as a cloth, but no matter how hard or how long he scrubbed, it just wouldn't get off.

Seeing it was getting rather late, and thinking that soap water might do the trick, Percy got his backpack, that somehow remained dry during the whole tsunami incident and turned on the road, toward his house.

As he walked through the empty and silent streets, save for a few stray cats that were chasing each other around, Percy took another look at the drawing on his wrist. The trident looked simple from afar, but as Percy inspected it under a lamp light that turned on an off every couple of seconds, he could see that the detail was very intricate, though he would need a magnifying glass to figure out exactly what was there.

He then turned to the writing, thinking what it could mean. S.P.Q.R. Percy felt like he knew that acronym from somewhere. And then it hit him. Mark. The first Latin class he had, the talked about it. S.P.Q.R. **Senatus Populusque Romanus.** The senate and people of Rome.

Percy had some questions for his Latin teacher the next time he saw him, and for once, the questions he had were actually about the subject.

* * *

 **AN:**

 **Another week, another chapter. I'm sorry I can't update more regularly, but exams do take their toll.**

 **The story start picking up a bit, and intriguing developments are to come.**

 **Thank you for your reviews, likes, favorites and support. It means a lot.**

 **See you next time!**

 **AVE,  
T.I.**


	5. V

**A.N:  
** **Hey guys and girls.  
Sorry it took me so long to update this story. Know that I have not given up on it, and am not intending to do so.  
I've had a lot of university and family related issues these few months and I'm finally able to get back to writing.  
I hope you find this chapter as enjoying to read as it was to write again.**

 **Yours,  
** **T.I.**

* * *

Chapter V

The first thing that Percy thought when he woke up in his room – which he recognized by the rather low ceiling and blue color – was that he was going absolutely insane.

When he got home late only to hear Sally, his mother, talk to him with panic in her voice he only remembered hearing once before when he was very young, only for her voice to quiet down and become even more panicked after he tried to explain to her what happened to him. Excluding of course the giant woman and the breathing underwater thing. Percy was pretty sure he wasn't crazy yet.

After hearing his story, a big sigh left Sally's lips as she sent him to his room to rest, telling him that she needed they needed to talk when he was felt okay again. His mother never nagged or teased him so far, if she said they needed to talk then it was probably serious. Letting the thought go, he dragged his tired body upstairs, and without even changing his clothes, Percy drifted off.

This time his dream was less pleasant than the ones he had so far. When he came to, sensing the ethereal feeling that now became rather normal for him, he knew he was dreaming. The first thing that he heard afterwards were the screams. Hundreds, even thousands of man screaming at the top of their lunges. It was almost deafening.

Percy focused on the scene next. Men dressed in nothing but trousers and animal pelts, some were even almost fully naked, and holding varying kinds of weaponry that from the distance Percy was watching from were axe-like, were attacking a well-formed line of shields, impenetrable to their attacks.

Amongst the shouts Percy heard a command, and the next thing he saw was a rain of arrows fly above him, flying down towards the unarmored men below. Percy closed his eyes as he heard the screams intensify. These weren't the heated screams of battle. These were the screams of men knowing that they were about to die, and for Percy, he hated the fact that he now knew the difference.

Opening his eyes, he saw the unarmored men retreating towards the thick woods that stood behind them, yet their number was now greatly reduced - the arrow-filled bodies of their brothers decorated the battlefield – and the shouts got quieter and quieter.

Percy heard another shout, and the shield wall was disbanded in rows like, well, a well drilled army. Percy looked around, inspecting the soldiers of the winning side. From his distance he couldn't tell much, but he could tell that they were well armored and armed, their shield a color of deep red.

As he continued surveying around, Percy's eye caught a glimpse of a shine, and his breath was held. Even though he knew this was a dream, and not remotely real, as he saw a soldier with a simple silver mask – which only had holes for the eyes, nose and mouth – staring right at him, Percy nonetheless felt panic once again. As if on que, the masked soldier bent down to pick something up from the ground, and as he took hold of it, he held it high.

The golden eagle stared at Percy once again, this time below him, on a red banner was the letter "I". Just before his head spun again, Percy could hear the people below talking in a foreign language. Foreign, yet somehow familiar.

Percy contemplated on his way to school. His tattoo that he somehow managed to hide from his mother was still there on his wrist, proving to him that what occurred on the beach the other day was either a defense mechanism his brain came up with to justify him getting a tattoo at age sixteen, or that it was actually real. Whenever he remembered the voice he heard there was a feeling bubbling in his body, as if telling him to trust that it was absolutely real. And that scared Percy even more.

His day went as slow as usual, with him preoccupied in his though of just what was going on in his life, the classes and droning of teachers went by without him noticing. When it was time for Latin, Percy finally felt somewhat hopeful that he could get some answers for just what was going on.

When he entered the classroom Mark was already there, reading what seemed like a rather old and battered book. He was so engrossed in it that he never seemed to mind as Percy got inside and sat in one of the near tables. After about five minutes of Percy sitting and Mark reading, he decided that maybe he really should make his presence known. Just for safety.

"Um… Mark, shouldn't we start?" Percy asked.

Mark continued reading for a bit, blinked and closed his book.

"Why yes Percy, we really should, but you see, it would be a shame to go on with the subject with the other students in this class now won't it?" He asked, a glint in his eye.

Percy was taken aback by a bit. "We have more students? I thought I was the only one registered for the year." Percy inquired.

"Why yes, **discipule** , I thought so too, but apparently there's a new student that just got into the school last week and wanted to take Latin as well. Guess you won't be lonely anymore hm?" Mark half smiled to Percy.

"Do you know who it is? Anyone I know?" Percy asked.

"Well, I'm told that-" As mark began his answer, the classroom door opened.

"Is this Mr. Goldberg's Latin class? I'm new and I don't really know the way around ye-" The new student walked in wearily, yet with an air of confidence. She saw Mark, who had a half welcoming and half smirking – almost teasing – smile plastered on his face. And then she spotted Percy. And stopped talking.

He couldn't blame her. If he had any welcoming words ready to greet another human being that actually wanted to be around you for a prolonged period of time, they were stuck deep inside of his throat, on the verge of breaking out, yet held back by the sheer feeling of how stunned and stupid Percy thought he was looking right now.

He was actually quite curious about another student in class, but now it seemed that life just enjoyed taking him by the hand and throwing mysteries in his way wherever he went. As he inspected the girl, he felt a pull inside of him that felt familiar. And so he looked into her eyes.

They were the same eyes of the girl he briefly saw on the beach the day that he nearly drowned. Well, not really drowned but… What else was it? Scuba-diving with no oxygen tank? Nearly drowned was shorter, although more attention grabbing. Or was it?

His thoughts banished once again as he stared for a few more seconds, as if he was trying to engrave the color and shape of her eyes for future reference. What was mysterious-beach-girl doing at his school? In this class? What were the odds?

"Right. As much as I enjoyed this staring contest, show must go on, as they say." Mark's voice sounded suddenly. Like thunder, or an order of a commanding emperor on the battlefield, breaking all illusions. Percy felt himself regaining his focus, and with motor controls back in his hands, he finally looked away. Even though deep inside he wanted to continue to stare at her eyes, that seemed like a night full of the brightest stars that kept stretching like the infinite cosmos. Another Greek word. Wait. How did he know that?

"Of course, Mr. Goldberg. I'm sorry, I'll go seat down." The girl responded. Although flustered, Percy noticed that she still had an air of confidence, or self-control. He didn't know how to explain it. She seemed almost regal in her poise. At least her and Mark have something in common.

"Ah. Before you do that, **discipula** , please do share with us your name at the very least. If you want to add in the reason you chose Latin as your extra language, I'll give you extra credit," Percy was nearly choking.

"In my academic heart." Mark finished. Of course.

The girl remained standing after Mark's note, the flustered state she was in before seemed to have dissipated as she somehow stood even straighter and sharper. Almost like a soldier. What was on with this girl? And then she spoke.

"My name is Reyna Ramirez-Arellano. Daughter of,"

Mark coughed.

For a second Percy could have sworn that she flinched, her eyes closing slightly and her body tensing, but as soon as he spotted it, it was gone, and she appeared as she was.

 _'Daughter of? Are we back in the seventeenth century?'_ Percy though.

"I'm new here. Transferred just this week. As for the reason for me to learn Latin, well when they say that it's a dead language, they should check that they double stabbed that thing and what remained was actually a corpse, not a bleeding, dying, but very much alive and breathing beast that could turn around at any second and turn the tables from right under you. That's my reason."

As she spoke, Percy saw her stare at nothing. her breathing became heavier as she carried on, and as she finished the final word, he thought she was slipping, barely remaining standing by sheer force of will and determination. A chill went down his spine. Just who was this Reyna? And why did he get the feeling he saw her before? Besides their random encounter that day on the beach.

"That was… Descriptive." Mark finally noted after a few moments of silence in which Reyna took a seat at the far edge of the class, as far away from the board as she could. Apparently she was a bad-girl type. Percy noted to himself.

"Okay, Reyna, I'll send you some practice sheets for which to review the things we did so far – which was very little due to Percy's curiosity – so that you could be up to speed." Percy almost blushed. One question and he was disrupting class with his curiosity? Not cool Mark.

Reyna nodded and opened her textbook neatly, organizing her desk perfectly. Almost too perfectly. Someone had clear signs of OCD. Well, he had ADHD so he could at least cut her some slack. Mark wrote and the board, and she copied. Maybe OCD-bad-girl was just an illusion.

"As I was saying last time Percy," Mark turned as he finished writing. "And Reyna." He added. Two students in Latin class. Who would've though?

"We cannot begin to study history without going to the earliest thing we can possibly reach. And that is…" He seemed to look at them for answers.

"Um… The Big Bang?" Percy tried.

"Well, that might be a little too early Percy. Reyna, how about you?" Mark asked.

"War." She answered without a second of thought. "There was always, and will always be, war." Okay. Add edgy to the list of adjectives.

Mark seemed to ponder the answer. "Well, you're not wrong Reyna. Human beings always needed resources. And conflicts between opposing sides always occurred. But I'm talking about something different here." He admitted.

They both seemed lost for the answer though.

"I'm talking about hope. Hope and faith." Mark began. "Throughout history, humankind believed they were a part of something greater. Faith brought families, peoples, and indeed even entire empires together under rules and ideas they shared." Percy never thought of the aspect of religion and faith in the scenario of learning a language. Then again, he was learning more about history right now that the actual language. But he still enjoyed it, which seemed weird to him.

"And when talking about the Roman people, the had a strong faith. At least until the 4th century came around." Mark chuckled as if he just told a joke only he could understand.

"They believed in a massive pantheon of gods. All shapes and sized, all roles in heaven and earth. Good and evil, yin and yang, life and death. And among the great pantheon there were the main three deities that held absolute power over the world." Now this was getting interesting. Percy was even scribbling notes in his notebook, which he rarely did.

Mark drew a crude image of a thunderbolt, and below it, in large Latin writing he wrote **IUPPITER.** "Jupiter, god of the day, thunder, and skies."He then continued with an even cruder image of a skull - that seemed to Percy like those that were found in the shaped of lollipops – and wrote below it **PLUTO**. "Pluto, god of the dead and the underworld."

Finally, Mark drew what seemed to be a three headed fork on the board. Maybe Mark was just hungry. Something stirred inside of Percy as he looked closer at the fork, and then felt another chill went down his spine as he looked from the board towards his wrist.

What Mark drew was no fork. It was a trident. A very badly drawn one, but one nonetheless. And now there was another name written below in big and bold Latin writing. **NEPTUNUS.** "And of course, we can't forget dear old Neptune, god of the sea, horses, storms, and unfortunately earthquakes."

Percy felt something snap inside of him. For a moment it was all clear. The image of Mark writing on the board. The classroom, lit with the soft rays of the afternoon sun. His notebook, with his hand on it, in the middle of copying the final name Mark wrote on the board. And the eyes of the girl that sat at the end of the classroom, whose eyes were like the cosmos, stretching into infinity, and hiding what she never wanted to be found.

It was all clear. And then it wasn't anymore.

And Percy fainted.


	6. VI

**There will be an AN at the bottom if you'd like to read it. Sorry again for the long wait.  
Enjoy. T.I.**

* * *

Chapter VI

As Mark saw Percy's eyes widen suddenly a faint air of hope ignited in his chest. Maybe Jupiter finally got his thoughts in a straight line again. Damn those shift of power. When the gods ruled in the Mediterranean everything seemed better. But that was then, and this is now.

For a second Mark thought that Percy just might explode with the power of the revelation, and so prepared himself to defend himself and his other "student", but his preparation was for naught as he heard a deep and singular thud sound that was unmistakably Percy's head hitting his school desk. Wonderful. Then again, this posed an opportunity, like any event, if seen from multiple perspectives.

"Well, I guess his not ready yet." Mark exclaimed with a sigh. Nudging Percy in the right direction was all he could do for now. He had to find out on his own before another could step in and take charge. If only he could hurry in up. His scent was getting stronger. And uninvited guests were sure to arrive, looking for easy prey. Percy had to be ready. He then turned to look at his new student.

"And you, Reyna, shouldn't be here." His voice held a sudden edge that was never present before, like a hidden blade unfolded from within the folds of cloth. He could sense that Reyna was getting uncomfortable. Good. Maybe that'll convince her to leave him to do his job properly.

The air in the room seemed to get thicker as the two stared at each other, almost forgetting about the unconscious Percy that was now starting to emit the beginnings of a snore. Quite comical if not for the pressing circumstances.

Reyna finally cast her eyes down after what seemed like a rather long while, she really did become stronger, no, that wasn't it. Fierce. Something only true experience can teach you. "I know I shouldn't, but I had no choice **Magistre** , you're the only one with a connection to the gods, whatever slight. And I had a dream that warned me to come here." Her tone of voice held guilt, even pity, as she tried to explain herself.

Mark gave another sigh, deeper this time. "You know my connection is much weaker than what it was back in the day. The gods struggle to remain here, Reyna, any link I'm able to achieve grants me seconds, a minute at most, and I can't choose who appears before me,"

Reyna's form seemed less confident now, as if the only hope she found was now shattered into pieces.

"Nevertheless, as a courtesy and a favor to your mother who favored me in my time, I am willing to try and assist you. What did you dream about?" He questioned.

A spark suddenly appeared in her eyes. "Glory." She almost whispered. Mark was looked somewhat skeptic.

"Are we talking about a double cheeseburger with bacon and eggs glory or some other kind?" Reyna wanted to believe it was a joke, but his face gave nothing away. This is how he always was since his return.

"A prophecy was given, **Magistre**." The sparks in her eyes returned. "Nearly three-hundred years of silence and a prophecy was given once again. I'm talking about this kind of glory." A smirk slowly rose upon her face as she witnessed the teachers face become one of complete and utter shock, an expression she never got to see while he assisted her. And seeing him in such a state, she had to admit, was so satisfying she nearly wanted to roll on the floor laughing.

"Are you sure? Absolutely certain?" He asked after a few seconds of stunned silence.

"As sure as I can be, usually messages from mom are vague and blurry, but this wasn't mom. It was as if the Power itself whispered to me." Her smirk widened into a full bloom smile.

"What did she say? Do you remember? I must know. If they need help, as much as it pains me to leave a new student, I have to answer the call." His voice now caught a sense of urgency.

"I remember very little of it, Reyna admitted, but it had to do with the Wreath. And a son of Neptune." _A son of Neptune?_ Mark wondered. He knew no son of Neptune. How was he supposed to find him? Weren't all of his sons long gone? Reyna continued looking at him, a smile still almost blinding him. It was rare that she ever smiled.

"Do you know what this means **Magistre**? My kind could be saved. No more **Monstra** killings, no more sadness, no more loss of-"

" **Roma Invicta!** " The sudden rising of Percy's head from the table nearly killed both teacher and student, but it was the near battle-shout uttered from Percy's lips that really gave them both a heart-attack. Where did this come from.

Percy was now standing on his desk, body prone and muscles taught, an arm was raised in the air, ready to strike at any enemy that appeared. His eyes held a sharpness to them, not of sight, but of sense. He scowered the classroom for a few and then as soon as the edge in his eyes appeared it was gone.

"What… What happened?" Percy muttered silently. The dream was so real, he had to defend the border, the **legatus** was by his side and they were charging the enemy, and then darkness.

He finally seemed to notice both Reyna and Mark staring at him with eyes wide. Why were they staring at him? Oh, he's standing on his school desk that's why. He then followed the direction to which they were both staring, but it wasn't on him so much as it was on his upraised arm. The arm where his "tattoo" was. Crap. He quickly lowered his hand, jumped down, grabbed his bag and ran for it. Mark's exclamations for him to wait were lost in his ears as he left the school, running like the wind.

When Percy got home, he went straight to his room, closing the doors and shudders, thinking in complete darkness. What was he going to do? Would Mark report him to someone? Was it even illegal to have a tattoo at his age? The new girl… Reyna, must think he's some kind of a punk who really loves forks on his arms. No. It wasn't a fork. Mark drew it on the board and he knew what it was. It was a trident.

As the thought ran through his head the darkness became engulfing and the air stifling, he needed to clear his head. It was early evening but a little trip to the beach wouldn't hurt. Just to clear his head and then he'll come back.

Instead of walking, he ran. He did it sometimes when he was anxious or sad, the burning in his lungs and the pain of endurance in his legs made him forget about his thoughts for a while. He even managed to get to the beach before sundown. As he got closer to the water, the ember and strong pinks of the setting sun calmed him, and the scent of the sea water made him feel whole, almost at home. He sat down near the coming and going waves and took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

After a few minutes, an itch ran down from his hand along his spine as it made him shudder. _The wind?_ Percy thought. Another itch. _Not the wind._ He concluded. Another itch, stronger this time, and a voice in his head.

"-ercy …" It muttered silently. Percy shot up and scanned his surroundings, almost on instinct. No one was around, he was by himself just like when he arrived.

"Percy r..!" This time stronger, and definitely male. Whoever he was he knew his name and was trying to tell him something. But his voice was still weak and distant, unclear.

"Percy run!" The voice sounded urgent, warning, like a distant scream of help, Percy was still unsure as to where the voice was coming from, but he knew a command when he heard one. He turned from the sea to begin heading back to his house, and when he turned, right in front of his stood a man.

He was tall, Percy was sure that if he wanted to play basketball he would smash it in any kind of league. His skin alabaster and smooth, covered with a plain T-shirt and dress pants, and his eyes, while a deep calming brown, made Percy feel sick to his stomach. Not because of the smell, but because of danger. His instincts screamed at him to ram the guy in the knee and run for his life. _How did he get so close anyway? I never heard him stepping on the sand._ Percy was on high alert.

" **Salve** , son of the sea, good to see you in good health. My master said you were underdeveloped but this is just crazy man!" The man laughed. He sounded like a mix of an Italian gangster and a hippie preaching about peace and love. Percy tried to ignore the voices telling him to run, but they were too strong.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Percy demanded.

"Wouldn't you like to know, right?" The man answered with a sinister smile. "But I'm afraid my lord's plans are a little too risky right now for me to indulge you in such knowledge, man. He wouldn't like it."

"Well I bet you wouldn't like this either." Percy said as his body lurched into motion. He feinted a move to the right and dashes to the left, feeling the explosive power of adrenaline coursing through him and making everything clearer and sharper. The man seemed stunned for a second, almost expecting something to strike him, but as he saw Percy moving, he just smirked. "You want to go man? I need to kill you anyway so whatever. I'll give you ten seconds head start, you better be grateful, man."

The man's voice weakened as Percy started sprinting like his life depended on it, which apparently, after the man finished talking, it did. The wind howled in his ears and it was getting darker, Percy had no idea where he was running to, but right now that was the least of his worries.

Another tingle ran down from his hand suddenly. "..t down Percy!" The voice yelled in his head, as frantic as before. Percy lurched and dropped to the sand below, the shock of the blow rattling his body. He looked up just in time to see hands grasping at the location where his body was just a fraction before, as if in slow-motion. Had he not fallen to the sand, they would've grabbed him for sure. The Hands retracted and he saw a glimmer in the fading sunlight. Percy's eyes widened. The hands were longer than human hands, narrower, and the fingernails were no fingernails. They were claws. Forget grabbed, if he remained standing he would've been cut to shreds. Where did the claws even come from?!

Percy shot up and began running again, his sight grew weaker due to the lack of light. As he ran, he could feel something following up behind him, and a chill ran down his spine.

"Not bad man! Good instincts!" The voice of the man shouted before him. "But I think it's time to end this man." A tingle again, but no voice no to follow it. What was he supposed to do now? Run? Hide? Climb? Swim? Die?

A deep pain bloomed in Percy's right leg and caused him to tumble on the sand, rolling several times and scraping his body before coming to a halt. He screamed at the night sky as the pain made its presence known once again. He felt at his right leg and felt warmth, and something running down his leg. He brought it closer to his face as the last remaining wisps of sun showed him the deep crimson of his blood. Was this really it?

"What a merry chase we had here man." The man suddenly appeared before him, just like he teleported, he never even saw him move. _What is he?_ Percy wondered as the pain appeared again.

"What are you? Why do you need me?" Percy hissed in a pained voice.

"That's on a need to know basis man. Only he knows what he needs you for dude." The man said almost sheepishly while scratching his head. "Oh, I also lied about the head start man, but seeing as you could dodge one of my attacks, I'll give you five seconds of finishing your mortal, well, demi-mortal coil here before I finish you off dude, say goodbye to your mom and dad and stuff. I'm sure Pluto will be touched man." Just what the hell was this man talking about? Did he also take Mark's class or something?

"Five," He started. Percy tried to move but the pain was too great. Better than before, but still not great.

"Four," He continued. Percy's breathing got heavy. Was he really going to die like this? Not knowing anything and in the prime of his youth? God had a real sense of humor.

"Three," The man seemed bored at this stage.

"Two," Another tingle in his arm and a voice in his head, screaming in agony " **Perseus!** "

"One." The voice wasn't the man's. Percy saw another glint and heard a whistle in the wind. Not the slow and calming one of a breeze, but the sure and whistling one of a weapon cutting the air. Next thing he knew; his body was covered in blood. Not his blood, but the man's blood. And right next to him, a head was rolling down the sand, detached from its body. But the head was no human. It was something weird and grotesque, with sharp fangs and an unnatural shape, surely some kind of monster. Was he dreaming again?

The man's body fell to the ground, twisting and turning, body getting longer, fingers becoming claws. This had to be dream.

"Percy! Percy are you okay?" The voice above him shouted, but his mind was too stunned to answer.

Above him, standing in pajamas with a chocolate-chip cookies design - with the words 'I'm sweet & salty' on the chest - and holding a short sword that now glimmered once again in the shallow light of the moon, was Reyna.

* * *

 **AN: Hey guys and gals, it's me again, the ever late and in trouble Taurus.**  
 **Uni and an unfortunate passing kept me from writing like I wanted. I apologize again for the long wait.  
Expect another chapter in a day or two, I promise.**

 **See you then, T.I.**


	7. VII

**A/N at the end as always. Enjoy. T.I.**

* * *

Chapter VII

In any other circumstance the image of the girl who he met just a couple of days ago dressed in said pajamas would have made him laugh. Had anyone told Percy that Reyna had such a kind of sleepwear he would've laughed in their face. She didn't seem to him like that type of girl.

Then again, Percy thought as he lay on the wet sand, adrenalin still pumping in his veins and his breathing still labored, he never imagined she was the kind of girl that handled a short sword as a hippie-terminating vigilante either.

The final soft rays of the setting sun lit the gruesome scene. The deformed, headless and non-human corpse still laid in front of Percy, who now noticed that the body was starting a rapid course of decomposition. Not so much decomposing, Percy noticed, as disintegrating, particles of the body coming off and flying in the soft ocean breeze. After five minutes, there was nothing left to indicate the event, not even the creatures blood.

Percy looked to Reyna - who now stood above him - her sword almost glowing in the fading light. He thought it was beautiful even though he couldn't get a proper look at the weapon. He meant to thank his savior, maybe even offer her a soda from the now barely working vending machine at the tourist spot near the beach, but then the pain hit him.

It was as if someone decided that Percy's leg could use a hot and relaxing bath of corrosive acid. His leg was burning up and the pain that began there started spreading, first up to his thigh and to his abdomen, until it reached the solar plexus and head. Percy muffled a scream as the pain travelled through him, closing his eyes and barely folding his body into some sort of fetal position to handle the pain, and closing his eyes.

"Percy! Listen to me, you need to get in the water." Through the cacophony of heavy breathing that he was buried in, somehow Reyna's voice pierced through to his soul, and he felt… brave somehow.

"Sorry for doubting Reyna," He started through clenched teeth, making his words muffled and barely audible.

"But won't salt water kind of, you know, increase the pain?" Even in this situation he found the time to crack a joke.

"You need to trust me. I know we just met a couple of days ago. But we know each other Percy. On a level that almost no one else will understand." Percy found that her voice was closer. As he opened his eyes slowly he saw her crouching next to him, and through the pain felt her hand on his shoulder.

"Grab onto me and get up. I know you can." Again that voice. It coursed through him no less than the pain. Making him believe in himself. Clenching his teeth, Percy clawed through the pain and got up with his hand on Reyna's shoulder for support.

"I don't know why I trust you with this, but if this ends up making me faint again I'm not getting you any kind of soda just so we're clear." He muttered, his voice stabilizing and clearer.

"Sure, whatever you say **Neptunulus**." Reyna laughed. It was the first time Percy heard her laughing. He decided it suited her, glowing sword vigilante and everything.

As they approached the waterline with Percy slowly hopping on his uninjured leg, he felt a pull within him. Like the ones he felt lately whenever he was around the ocean. Like it was calling for him. And this time it was a whole lot stronger. As they reached the lapping waves on the shore the moon was begging to announce his presence, shining a soft light on the water.

"You're on your own from here **Neptunulus**. See you later." Reyna said.

"Right… What's up with the nickname?" He asked.

"You'll see."

"Right. Nice pajamas by the way. Very you." Percy jabbed as he began to slowly hop his way deeper into the water, never looking back at Reyna's face, that currently held the slightest hint of redness, unnoticeable in the dark.

Percy's leg slowly entered the water, and as much as he was dreading the thought of getting his busted leg into the water, he was up to the level that it was impossible not to submerge it. And then Percy noticed he was thinking clearly again.

The pain he was feeling wasn't so bad now. It still hurt nonetheless, but it was a much appreciated improvement. He could explain it with him fainting again from the shock of saltwater on an open – and giant – wound, but he could still feel pain so that theory was out.

What more, as he entered his injured leg inside of the water, it began glowing a soft cyan. That was new. Now swimming, he proceeded deeper, and once his whole body but the head was submerged, he dived in.

The dark water of the ocean was illuminated by his glowing leg, exposing the ocean floor and small fish that slowly swam, some even approaching the source of light to inspect it, but quickly returned to the shallows once they were satisfied. Percy found that explainable: animals were usually attracted to light in absolute darkness.

What Percy couldn't explain was the feeling of mending bones, muscles and skin where his injured leg glowed. It was like someone reversed everything that happened to him in the last hour. Instead of pain, he felt relief. Of fear, he found elation. Of weariness, he found himself clear-headed and refreshed.

Percy never knew how long he spent inside the dark shallows, the feeling was like a trance, distant and intemporal. When his leg stopped glowing and he came to again, any pain he ever felt, even the tiniest itch, was gone.

What more – he noticed – he was with his eyes wide open, staring at the ripples and distortions of the ocean above him made clear by the faint moonlight. And he was breathing normally. He waited for his body to enter shock once he processed the information, but nothing happened. Just like his body, he began to accept the current reality. He could breathe underwater, and water healed him – although slowly – to perfect condition. In his now clear state he began thinking about joining Reyna and form a team of sword-wielding-ass-kicking-Latin-learning force of justice, but laughed at the idea. Then he remembered that she was probably still on the beach.

Worried, Percy maneuvered his body to the direction of the beach, ready to begin the swim back, when he felt a pull at his stomach. As he swam, he noticed the stream of air bubbles behind him, caused by his speed. His body was propelling through the water as if he was a speed boat, cutting the currents and waves. Guiding himself with the moon's light, he was back to land in seconds, a smile plastered across his face.

As he emerged, he noticed Reyna still on the beach. Though now sitting down, and holding her hands to her body. It really was chilly in the middle of the night. A sudden gust of wind made Percy's wet body shiver, and a sense of guilt crawled to his head for letting Reyna stay on the beach for so long.

When she noticed him arriving on the beach, she smiled slightly and got up, rubbing her hands back and forth on her arms for warmth.

"I see you managed, **Neptunulus**." She pronounced.

"I'll leave the big questions for later. How long was I in?" He questioned.

"Four hours."

"Four hours?!" He thought it was a while, but never four hours.

"How do you feel Percy?" She asked.

"I feel… great. Never better. If I knew saltwater could cure fatal wounds, I'd have taken to skateboarding off of buildings a-lot sooner."

"You skateboard off of buildings?" the skepticism clear in her voice.

"It was a matter of speech."

"Of course it was." She shook her head, a small smile once again made its way to her face.

"You didn't have to wait all this time. I'm sorry. But, thank you. You saved me." His eyes were downcast, his uneasiness with the situation clear.

He couldn't see the smile disappearing from her face, replaced with a calculated look.

"I've been waiting a long time Percy. Four hours is nothing." She started. Her voice colder and serious.

"Waiting for what?" He asked, raising his eyes to meet hers. Even in the dim light, he saw a strong resolve and something he couldn't quite place.

"For something you're not ready for yet." She muttered.

"What do you mean not ready yet? What's with the mystery and riddles? How did you know water would heal me? How did you know where to find me? How did you kill that thing? What's going on Reyna?!" He was now getting frustrated. After all of this, he wasn't ready? Ready for what? Why did it feel like everybody knew a secret about him and were laughing at his expense?

"Percy, you need to calm down." Reyna's voice was guiding. Almost cautious.

"How can I calm down in this situation? How would _anyone_ be calm? What's going on? What am I? what is this? I've had enough with staying in the dark!" Frustration turned quickly into unchecked rage. He almost got killed today damn it. He had every right to know about whatever this is that involved him.

"Percy, please. Take a deep breath." Was she patronizing him?

"Why Reyna? Why should I after this?" He found himself shouting, anger clear on his face.

"Look backwards." She said, voice almost fearful. Some sort of awe presented in her gaze.

This took Percy aback. What reason could there possibly be to look back to the ocean right now? She was distracting. But then Percy suddenly listened. He heard in his ears a surging sound, like the sound of the raging seas in storm, trampling all in his path.

He quickly turned backwards, and this time shock took hold of him once again. Not too far from where he was standing, a pillar of salt water emerged from the sea, reaching for the heavens. It gushed and stormed, but mainly remained in place. As if a mini hurricane of violent water decided to rebel against the calm. As it raged, swirling and twisting endlessly, Percy once again felt the pull in him stomach. But this time, he noticed, it didn't vanish like the other times. It was consistent, and powerful, demanding him for his strength. And it just like a coin, dropping on the floor, it clicked.

"I'm doing this." His anger vanished, replaced with complete and utter disbelief.

"Yes." Her response came after a few moments, awe still dominant in her voice.

"What do you mean yes? You're supposed to think I'm crazy!" He gave a surprised gasp at her reply.

"I know you're not, Percy. But you need to breath. This amount of sapping could kill you. You're not ready to handle these powers yet. Breath." She urged him.

Powers? Sapping? Not ready yet? Again with these riddles? He was getting sick and tired of not knowing. Speaking of tired, Percy noticed the fresh and aware state that he was in earlier was dimming. Rapidly. The tugging didn't stop. And he had a feeling it could last far more than he could.

Taking Reyna's advice, Percy closed his eyes and began breathing. In and out. In and out. Inhaling slowly, exhaling slowly. Rise and repeat. Little by little, the tugging in his stomach went away. And sounds of gushing water rising to the sky was dimming more and more. After some time, the tugging stopped. And when Percy opened his eyes, all that he saw was the calm ocean lit by a pale moon.

He turned to Reyna, who now seemed much more relaxed than before.

"What am I?" his voice was shaking. He could feel his body getting exhausted with every passing second.

"You're like me Percy. You're like the few remaining remnants of a culture and people long past."

"Enough with the damn riddles! Get to the point." He wanted to shout, but had no strength left.

" **Filius dei**." She said. "A demi-god."

* * *

 **Hello to those still here.  
I'm sorry about the _very_ late update. I'm pushing myself to write at least a thousand words a day, but feel like my writing just isn't good enough. Hence the lateness.  
Hopefully I won't make you wait any longer, and as always, I will never abandon this story, as I really love the concept.  
Thank you for your patience and understanding.**

 **T.I.**


	8. VIII

**A/N at the end. Enjoy. T.I.**

* * *

Chapter VIII

Percy never had much interest in reading. Maybe school had something to do with it. Maybe it was his ADHD and dyslexia. In any case, the act of putting letters into words, into sentences, into a coherent idea wasn't a past time Percy would sink his time into.

And yet, there stood a girl, who not even a half-day ago was still an almost complete stranger to him, telling him about his being a _demi-god_? Was he about to faint again? That seemed to be happening quite frequently lately.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and calmed himself. Inhaling and exhaling a few deep breaths before he opened his eyes, their strong emerald color reflecting in the shallow light.

"Okay, Reyna. Say I bite," Percy started, his voice calm, but she felt like the even tone was only hanging by a thread, ready to fall and disappear at any moment.

"How can I be the son of a god? And what god? As far as I know there are many gods. Viking gods, Persian gods, Greek gods, pop-singers-with-too-many-fans-for-some-reason gods. You see my point." He began swaying and gesturing with his hands with every mention of a pantheon, which Reyna found rather comical.

"Look Percy, it's getting late, and the sea washed your scent for a while, so you can go home without my escort. Just watch out for any strange movements. Remember: _everything_ wants you dead. You are a trophy and a sign of status for **monstra** and their masters. You _need_ to stay alive." Reyna explained rapidly.

To Percy, it felt like she was a broken record. Always going off and adding more and more questions to his ever-growing, over-consuming conundrum of his life ever since he turned sixteen.

"I can't just leave without knowing anything. And how will you get home with a sword like that? Anyone sees you and reports to the police and you're done." He countered.

"Oh, don't worry about my sword, I can handle it just fine." Had Percy not experienced several strange and world-bending events in the past couple of days, he might have thought he was in a dream again.

As Reyna finished her sentence she threw the sword in the air, making do flips as if she was a circus performer juggling blades. But then, just as the tip of the sword was about to scratch her skull and leave a no doubt serious wound, it began shrinking.

Smaller and smaller, to almost a miniature level, until it turned into a coin the size of an okay sign that divers use to sign each other. The coin fell with a faint ringing noise inside of her palm, and she pocketed it in her pajama shorts.

In the short amount of time that the coin was barely visible in the low light, Percy caught a glimpse of a face and letters around it, but not enough for him to see what it said and whose face was minted on the coin.

The thing he _could_ feel though, was his mouth slightly agape at what had just occurred in front of his eyes. This was no magic trick or slight-of-hand. This was beyond explaining. Then again. What happened to him tonight was also beyond explaining.

"Don't worry. You'll learn all you need tomorrow, for now." Reyna gave a slight smile and a nod, turned and started walking back from whence she came. Waving goodbye at Percy. As he stared at her silhouette fading into the darkness, he felt the cold breeze chill his damp body. Shivering slightly, Percy decided to head home as quickly as he could. Breaking into a maddening sprint that lasted all but until he entered his door, drenched with sweat, sea water, and sand, breathing heavily with exhaustion. He took a quick shower, fell on his bed, and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The lone man standing in what looked like the set of a fantasy movie signaled Percy that he was indeed dreaming. Again. Great.

It wouldn't be so bad, Percy thought, if where he stood seemed like and actual city, and not a crumbling, burning, smoking pile of ruins he saw before him. The city sprawled as far as Percy could see, but the state it was in didn't allow him to place himself in any known area. Then again, as he looked around he realized that even if the city was in perfect shape he probably wouldn't know where he was. So was the nature of his dreams. Always chaotic. Always confusing. Just like his life recently.

The man, Percy now noticed, donned a helmet and armor. But not like the ones he saw in his previous dreams. Though less opulent and impressive, it seemed to be as very bit functional, maybe even more so. The black material was worn, yet well maintained. It was obvious that it had seen use often. The helmet hugged and protected his face, while the armor itself was made of a chest piece, vambraces, and leg arms. Protecting his nether were a bunch of corded leather strips, for allowing freedom of movement and agility in battle, leaving his arms and legs free to move as the man wished. And if anything beside the well-muscled and his spear and round shield he was holding in his hands was any account, he was clearly a skilled warrior.

Percy never saw one of these armors before, but the use and knowledge about the use of every part somehow popped inside of his head, if only for a fleeting couple of second. He felt like he should know the man, but he knew he never saw him before no matter what his instincts told him.

As Percy slowly approached he noticed, as usual, that the man didn't seem like he could see or hear him. As he came closer, he noticed another thing about the mysterious man. Dripping slowly from his face and into the black and scorched ground, were tears.

As the man continued to limp across towards him, passing through his incorporeal form, Percy drew his attention to his plentiful injuries ranging from light bruises to what seemed like a deep gash from a strike that managed to cut through the tough armor and slash at his abdomen. As he walked, the man began to chant something.

The language was like nothing Percy ever heard before, long vowels and misplaced consonants made no sense in his brain, and yet he knew that the man was praying for something, or someone, as he continued his long track behind Percy.

Turning around, he continued to watch the mysterious warrior, taking heaving step by heaving step to continue his advance, all the while chanting the same phrase over and over. Percy felt as if he should know what the man was saying. It had some resonance with him that couldn't be explained with words alone.

On and on the man chanted, walking through the ruins of the city, preaching his phrase over and over. And then another voice echoed in the distance. Percy didn't know why, but he knew that the echo wasn't made from nearby. Not from the city, not from the country this warrior came from, it was a voice from far away. And he knew that voice. Felt something familiar about it. It was the same voice that told him to run and hide when the weird creature attacked him on the beach.

This time though, the voice held strength. Such overwhelming presence that it made Percy, even in his ghostly form, feel to the depth of his heart. The warrior seemed to have the same reaction as Percy, as if he wasn't anticipating any answer. The echo as if returning his strength, made the warrior stand up taller, head slightly higher, gait less pronounced. It was as if the voice itself was fixing whatever ailed him, and he began to walk faster. Percy followed.

Next thing that Percy knew, he was at the shore of great sea. The man gave a final chant, repeated to him by the echo, and then ceased. The warrior now set aside his spear and shield and looked around, as did Percy.

Around him he could see tens, maybe even hundreds of ships. Some destroyed, and some still in sailing condition. standing sporadically on the beach were what seemed like more warriors akin to the one Percy saw first. Equipped with weapons and armor as well.

The mysterious warrior, now seeming to have healed from his injuries, turned around and faced the men, speaking again in the language Percy had no way to understand. Emotions ran through their eyes: fear, sadness, anger, desperation, but most of all, however small, was hope as well. Hope that Percy knew the warrior inspired with his words. As his final words were greeted by approving shouts of the men and the raising of spears towards the sky, the warrior began boarding a large vessel that seemed large enough to carry a company into the sea, his man following him, and set sail towards the horizon, and towards new shores.

As Percy remained on the shore and gazed at the boat leave, he knew he too was inspired by the man's words. Not even knowing their meaning, they awoke a hunger within him to be the best he could, for himself and for his future self. To become something truly special. A myth even. The feeling filled him as the ship disappeared on the horizon.

Percy couldn't remember the last time that his dreams had been pleasant, if you could call his latest dreams that. But as he awoke the next morning, staring at the tattooed trident on his arm, Percy knew that it all had to mean something. If not for his current situation, then to his future. And if Reyna said yesterday was true and real, then he had no choice but to take it seriously. Not only for himself, but for Reyna, and all those like them that're experiencing trouble and danger. Grasping his head into a fist, Percy nodded to himself.

Even with all the pep talk and somewhat encouraging dream, Percy still couldn't focus on math. Numbers just weren't his thing. As he sat in class he stifled a sigh into his arm, hoping that his torture would soon end.

As if on que, the door opened and in came Mark, who whispered a few words into his math teacher's ear, who looked back at Mark skeptical, yet waved his hand in a dismissive approval. Mark looked to Percy, waved with his head towards the exit, and left the classroom, as if motioning him to join. Never the one to leave such a rare opportunity, Percy quickly packed his things and left the classroom, heading towards mark who was waiting in the hallway.

"Ah, Percy. I'm glad you could join me." Mark said with a knowing half-smirk on his face, his spectacles moving upwards if only a little.

"I'm glad as well, always happy to _not_ be in math," He paused, staring at his teacher. "about last time, I'm sorry I ran out suddenly, I don't know what came over me. Oh and by the way that tattoo you might have seen in that occurrence, totally not real, nor even a bit." He laughed nervously as he averted his look.

"Right. Of course." Mark replied.

"So, what do you need with me, your loyal Latin student?" He tried to lighted the mood.

Mark stared at him for a couple of seconds, as if testing him.

"What I need from you, dear pupil, is to meet me and Reyna at the gym. Every day after school, not negotiable. I've already cleared things with Ms. Nancy."

Okay. Forget Latin, this was definitely the weirdest thing Percy ever heard someone utter out loud.

"Why would you need me and Reyna at the gym after school every day? Are we putting on a play in Latin as a final project I had no idea about now that we're two students?" He tried to conceal his surely hastened breathing at his teacher's mention of Reyna. Best not connect the two of them for now. Who knew what Mark might think.

"Because after the whole debacle that went on yesterday I realized I was too slow in my undertaking, and however weak they are right now I know that the gods are _not_ happy with the situation."

Wait. What?

"You are to be trained properly in the ways of combat, arts, philosophy, the ones who came before, and of course, as I saw you had a knack for it, Greek. I will make you my greatest disciple yet." Percy could barely breath. No way. This was all wrong.

"Time for you to start shaping up properly, **discipule**."

This couldn't be happening.

* * *

 **Hey guys and girls, it an on-time Taurus here, wishing you all a happy update.**

 **We reached over one hundred story followers and I'm honestly shocked.  
The reviews and support of my story always make me smile and push on to write at the level I know I can, so thank you.  
** **See you on the next one,**

 **T.I.**


	9. IX

**A.N/ Hey guys, those who read my review know the reason for my absence, and I apologize again.**

* * *

Chapter IX

His final lesson should've been Latin, the one class that he was used to looking forward to. But as Percy stood up from his seat after the bell signaled the end of his Biology lesson, he began to feel anxious rather than excited.

Whatever Mark said to him before, he couldn't mean it right? How did he know about it anyway? Could Reyna possibly have told him? And if so, why in the world would he choose to believe a high-schooler rambling on and on about monsters, weapons and a near death experience that happened in the middle of the night. Even as he thought about it now Percy came to the conclusion that he was either dreaming the past events – a possibility that he shot down due to the immense pain that he felt the night before – or that he was absolutely, clinically insane. He didn't know what he preferred.

His footsteps on the hard floor tiles made an echo that Percy never heard before as he went down the stairs and towards the school gymnasium. It haunted him, made him want to stop in his steps. He wanted time to stop, and the bad feeling in his gut to disappear. But soon – sooner than he wanted – he found himself before the large sliding doors of the gym.

Reaching his hand to the handle, he noticed it was shivering. Why was he so nervous about this? It was just an illusion, after all. He would explain it to Mark, go talk to Reyna, transfer to Italian and never ever talk about hippie monsters trying to kill him, his strange tattoo, or the fact that he say Reyna cut off a head effortlessly and with the grace of a dancer. Yeah. Good plan. Go Percy.

With a deep breath, he moved the door aside and entered. The gym was a tall building. The smell of freshly waxed wood assaulted his nostrils as he got further inside. The wooden floor must've been waxed recently. The next thing Percy heard was a bouncing sound. The one basketballs made when they were dribbled. He looked towards the basket at the far end of the gym to see Mark, wearing an appropriate teachers clothing that included what looked like a heavy and very dark blazer, jumping, basketball in hand, and shooting it from the three-line towards the basket.

Percy kept watching as the ball hit the ring, spun on it twice, and went inside with a soft sound before landing on the floor and making its signature sound once more. Mark turned to Percy with a little smile on his face.

"What a strange concept for a game, huh Percy?" Mark asked, without turning.

"What do you mean, sir? Basketball?" He answered.

"Yes, all modern ball games seem to be based around the same concepts of hoops and goals, trying to score more than the opponent. And that's it." Mark noted, as he turned to him.

"I think people like simplicity, sir, it makes it easy to follow and cheer for the team you want to win." Percy didn't really get Mark's remarks about the nature of ball games, but everything was better than talking about what he meant by 'training' him.

"Ah yes. All people want, Percy, are bread and games, nothing better to please the crowed. Happy to see it's still the same." Mark continued.

"The same?" Percy wondered. "The same as what sir?" He asked.

As Mark began to open his mouth to respond, the sound of the sliding gym door made his close it once again. Percy turned to look at the newcomer, which was none other than his savior, Reyna, dressed in gym shorts and a sweat absorbing tank top. Percy did _not_ see that one coming.

"Reyna. Glad you could join us, but I fear that the sports attire wouldn't be necessary today. We're not into that stage just yet. Soon enough." Mark looked as if he wanted to laugh, but held it back, very well, if Percy would've noticed him at the moment.

What Percy did notice, rather, almost too preoccupied with was the fact that Reyna had gym clothes on. Damn puberty. He wished he could just poof into the stage where all hormones and zits were done with, but he knew he had to suffer through it, that is if he didn't die before then.

Reyna herself, Percy noticed, was first puffed up and looked rather looking forward for whatever 'training' was going to happen today for whatever reason. Her face got rather down when their teacher told her that whatever they were going to do today wasn't whatever she was thinking. Percy didn't know if he felt bad for her somewhat downed mood or happy to be out of whatever Reyna was looking forward to.

"Now," Mark turned his gaze from Reyna back to him, the subtle amusement on his face seemed to go down as well, he noticed.

"Percy, after what you and Reyna have been through last night I fear I must advance my plans further and in a more hasty way than I would've liked." Percy felt this wasn't going to be good for him.

"Now, before I begin I-"

"What did you tell him Reyna?" Percy turned towards her.

Reyna too, seemed to be listening to Mark, when she snapped due to his question. "It's best for the **Magistre** to explain. Please listen well Percy, it's important." She sounded more sincere than the casual talks he had with her. Like the time when they talked last night.

"As I was saying," Mark started.

"As I've told you before, believe it or not, Percy, you are a demigod. The son of an ancient and powerful being that rules aspects of this earth and its people, as is marked by your Legion Tattoo."

Mark was saying these things again, like it was business as usual. Yeah sure. You're just the son of a massively powerful being that rules earth. No biggie. Was he being serious?

But then again, Percy wondered, whatever that creature was that attacked him last night also said that he was the son of something. The details were pretty hazy due to him being on the brink of death, but why would they both say that without any context of each other? And how did he know about his tattoo anyway, did he catch that when Percy ran out of the classroom yesterday?

"Okay," Percy interrupted.

"Say I'll go along with your theory for a few seconds," He continued.

"Where are all these almighty gods now? The only god I saw was either in my messed up video games or from whatever little mythology I picked up on from my mom as a kid. And how do you know about my tattoo anyway?" Percy questioned.

As he finished his query, both the face of teacher, and the one of his classmate got more solemn, and Percy felt as if the usually hotter gym got a little bit colder.

"It's a long story, Percy." Reyna turned to look at him.

"Let's just say that one thousand five hundred years of people stopping supplying them power left them a husk of their former selves. They remain due to us being here. We are their only connection to this world. This is why we exist, Percy. For them." As she said this, Reyna's voice lowered, and she cast her eyes down. Her voice slowed down to almost a crawl of drabbled words by the time she was done.

Yet Percy picked up another detail. "Us, Reyna? What do you mean us?" A chill ran down from his scalp all the way to his legs. This was wasn't getting any better.

She looked at him once again, her eyes now shimmering. Was she being serious? He never thought he would see this girl on the brink of tears. Reyna lifted her left arm, and faced it towards Percy. At exactly the place where he had his tattoo stood the bold letters that marked him as well. SPQR. She didn't have a trident, instead a sword and what looked like a rectangular shield. No way.

"I'm a demigod as well." The shimmering of her eyes was replaced with an emotional wall, and Percy couldn't figure out if she was that determined to get him in on the act, or it was what felt like silent rage that permeated through a crack in her persona. This was all way too serious.

"I don't understand," Percy muttered. It was driving him mad. He didn't want to believe it, but after what he saw on the beach, and what Reyna did, and his own mysterious abilities, it was rather hard to deny it.

"My mom said that my dad left before I was born, simply disappeared. If these gods are really that weak then how could he have met my mother?" It was a logical question. He held onto any logic he had remaining.

"A good question, **discipule** , and one I am wondering myself to this very day. Had I the ability to speak to the gods so that they may explain how and why I'm here I would've asked them already," Mark replied.

"And yet, all I can remember was appearing in this time not long ago with a single mission engraved into my psyche – 'save our children, make Rome stand once again as a shining beacon of hope.'" Percy could see that whatever his teacher was talking about, he wasn't lying or making it up, there was no hint of deception on his face from what he could see.

"What do you mean make Rome stand once again? Last I checked Rome was still a big place full of spaghetti and tourists. Are the gods planning to shut it down or something?" Every new detail Percy learned led to even more questions. He knew what they were talking about was well into the fictional, and if someone were to enter the gym and hear their talk, he would no doubt think that they were doing some kind of action role-playing game.

"I'll explain the details later. Right now, it's important that you know what you're up against, and that me and Reyna help shape you up into a legionnaire that can defend himself and his brothers and sisters in arms. We don't want another repeat of the beach incident yesterday."

So she did tell him after all. Percy felt unsure as to Reyna's intentions with him. Will she now report his every move to Mark? Will he forever live in a shell of fear and doubt about who he can trust constantly? Percy didn't want that. Everything but that.

"Okay then," Percy started. "Why don't you start with the monsters? Why now? Why not attack and kill me when I was a baby, or a kid in the playground? They had plenty of chances."

"Again, a good question Percy. This one, though, I can answer you. When a demigod is born, they begin growing like any normal human child," Mark started. Percy found himself paying his undivided attention. Finally some answers.

"The problem starts when they develop their divine abilities. Around age fifteen to sixteen. When their divine blood starts to manifest itself, it produces a certain, _scent_." Mark continued. Percy noticed Reyna's eyes were downcast once again. Was his _scent_ that noticeable? He noted to put on some more deodorant in the mornings.

"Monsters are attracted to that scent. They locate you with it. They thirst for divine blood to strengthen them. They would stop at nothing to get it." Mark looked solemn all of a sudden, so did Reyna.

"Okay, so why don't we run to whatever safe space the gods have for us here? Some shelter or a few cabins in the woods? A camp or something? Sounds like something reasonable that a parent does to protect their child?" Percy questioned. At this Reyna seemed to shut down even further, and Mark gave out a heavy sigh.

"The old world was destroyed, Percy." Mark started.

"Destroyed? What do you mean destroyed?" A bad feeling was welling up in his stomach again.

"It means, Percy, that once the base of their belief was nearly wiped, the gods have nearly no power at all, as I mentioned before."

Oh no. Percy was starting to put two and two together.

"Out of the demigods that come to this world, few survive their teenage year. A lack of experience and training makes them easy prey, and they are consumed, along with more of their parent's influence." Pictures were running through Percy's head, replaying the scene that occurred yesterday. It could've easily been different. He could've died had Reyna not been there. How many more had a different outcome?

"That's why I'm here, Percy." Mark continued.

"To help and teach the ones who must survive and keep going. And keep fighting, so that the glory of the senate and people of Rome, and their gods, would not perish into oblivion. And I'm thinking you're just the one that was meant to restore and give hope to future generations." Mark's eyes felt like they were piercing his, and the weight of his words reached straight into his heart.

Him? Savior of the Roman people? A Legionnaire? What was that? It was-

"Just like in my dreams." Percy's eyes widened. Followed shortly by both pairs of the people near him.

* * *

 **As I mentioned before, this story will never be abandoned. I care for it way too much at this point, and want to tell it.**

 **I understand if you'd rather unfollow due to irregular updated, yet I'm trying my best, and I'm thankful to all those enjoying my story.**

 **Thank you for your patience, and see you in the next one,**

 **T.I.**


	10. X

Chapter X

Mark and Reyna's widened eyes told Percy that he might've blurted out the wrong thing to add to the conversation. They were just dreams. Sure it _was_ weird that he dreamt about specifically Roman soldiers and their battles, but his latest dream didn't feature any Roman figure that he knew of. Right?

All of a sudden engrossed in his web of thought, he didn't catch the look Mark and Reyna shared, with a slight nod from Mark, Reyna turned and started walking towards the maintenance closet at the end of the gym.

"I'm interested to hear about your dreams, Percy. Very much so. Yet we only have the rest of the period here and we need to get to work as soon as we can." Mark said, snapping Percy out of his trance.

Right. Training. Whatever that meant. Dreams could wait for later. It's been a while since he did anything physical. The school didn't have a pool, and he could only swim in summer. Well, maybe now he could swim whenever he wanted, considering his circumstances. He'd have to try it out one day.

"So what first, **Magister**? How do you even win against whatever tries to attack you when you're a mere human and it's a creepy muscle-bound hunting machine thirsting for your blood?" They say humor helps with coping. So far Percy wasn't sure.

Mark looked stunned again for a second before his composure returned. "How come you use the Latin, Percy? Not that I mind," He started.

Percy never even noticed that he used the title Reyna used to refer to their teacher. Was she effecting him now?

"The first thing we'll teach you is basic close quarters combat and weapon proficiency. In regular Latin hours we'll talk about Roman life, beliefs and culture, so that you know your legacy, and what you're going into." Mark continued.

"But how do you know all of this? Who taught you?" Percy was still unsure about his mysterious teacher, and the little info he could find about him didn't help.

"I told you Percy, the gods are the reason I'm here, to serve and protect, and to revive. All I can tell you is that you must trust me, and that I can help you become what you were meant to be. With Reyna's help of course."

As if on cue, the door of the maintenance closet opened, and out came Reyna, equipped with what looked like a small armory made of wood. A large wooden shield rested on her back, as well as what looked like two thin and long spear points, secured to the shield. In her hands, she held two wooden short swords that Percy recognized from his dreams.

The double edged blade was wider than most swords Percy knew from playing video games and watching various movies, and he was sure that while dull, a solid hit from this wooden weapon would hurt no less than a baseball bat straight to the head.

When she arrived, and with a nod from Mark, she placed the swords on the floor, followed by the large shield and lastly the two wooden spear tips, which – now unobscured – turned out to be what looked like short spears.

"This is a crash course, Percy, so pay attention," Reyna's voice caught his attention, now different from the melancholic tinge that it held when he entered the gym. Percy looked at her and nodded. He'd do his best to learn what she could teach him.

"The sword right here is the usual legionnaire issued weapon. Good for both stabbing and slashing, its design helped shape the Roman army and its empire. Romans called it a-"

" **Gladius**." Percy said. The **Legatus** in his dreams made sure they were ready with them before the attack. Sharp and poised.

"Yes. Good I see it's popular enough that even you know what it is." A small snicker left her lips before Mark gave a small cough.

"Anyway, moving on, the large shield here is again normal issued. It help protect both you and your comrades on the battlefield, and can be maneuvered to preform different tactics for both attacking and defending. It's named a-"

" **Scutum**." Percy beat her again. He almost felt the heft of it as he watched the cohort in his dream form into a defensive tactic that its name he didn't quite catch.

"Yep. Two for two. I though you didn't know much about Romans, maybe just the Latin?" Reyna seemed to cheer up even more now. Percy though that it might have to do with him having prior knowledge about deadly weapons.

"Now the spears are quite tricky and most people get it wrong. You see-"

" **Pila** are used to get rid of opposing shields. The thin metal that penetrated the shield makes the rest of the **pilum** bend, making efficient use of the shield very difficult to impossible, allowing an opening in the enemy ranks." Percy just spewed knowledge that came from what he saw. It wasn't pretty, but it _was_ effective. Very effective.

Reyna, stunned, just looked at him for a few seconds. "How did you know?"

"Told you, I dreamt of it. A big battle full of Roman legionaries. It's like you took the same weapons and carved them out of wood." Percy answered.

"Reyna?" He asked.

"What?"

"Why are there wooden Roman infantry weapons inside of the gym maintenance closet?"

"Because we need to keep up with our training Percy, and I couldn't start you off with a bladed weapon now could I?" She responded.

"How come no one took the away by now?" If he was a janitor that spotted weapons, no matter the material, he probably would've taken them and alerted the principle straight away.

"They think they're brooms."

"What?" No way.

"Later, Percy. For now, pick up a gladius." Reyna instructed.

Following her instruction, Percy picked up the wooden weapon from the ground. The hilt's rough texture made his grip strong and the weight seemed balanced for him. Neither too light nor too heavy. He inspected the weapon for a few moment before looking back at Reyna.

"Okay what now?" Some kind of stance, or footwork? A basic strike? Maybe Reyna could get a training dummy from the closet that people usually mistook for a cotton candy machine. Everything could be possible.

"Now defend yourself." She said

"Wait what?" Percy only managed to utter his confusion before he saw Reyna explode into action. With two quick steps she was close enough to strike him from every angle she wished. But from where? Percy was having difficulty analyzing the situation he found himself in. The focused look on Reyna's face told him that she'd hit him no problem. She saw him as an enemy. He was actually in danger.

Then suddenly, without warning, his mind cleared up, and he knew what to do, almost like an instinct. He took a swift step back, ducking in the process quick enough to hear the violent sound of hardwood cutting through the air where his head was just a moment ago.

Automatically his body reacted again. This time trying to defend itself, and to keep danger away as far as possible. With another swift step, he closed whatever small distance was left between them and raised his gladius with a slashing motion, down towards Reyna's face. Feeling the weight behind his attack, Percy was actually worried he could hurt her. He didn't want to.

His hesitation cost him greatly as Reyna parried his strike with ease, opening him up for her best chance to score a killing strike.

Whatever took hold of Percy's actions before disappeared when he hesitated to carry the attack through, and he felt like he couldn't move, speak, even breath.

With a swift and decisive motion, the tip of Reyna's wooden gladius was a paper's width away from completely destroying his wind pipe, and he closed his eyes in panic, waiting for the pain.

A second. Two more. The pain never came. Percy opened his eyes to see Reyna, her weapon at her side, and a soft smile on her lips. The soft light that came through the window indicating the late afternoon was turning into evening gave the image an even more surreal look for Percy.

"You dodged it." She said.

"What? What do you mean I dodged it? You nearly had me dead by your second strike Reyna." Percy was confused.

"Exactly." She let out a laugh. "Demigods work on instinct. We're faster, more powerful, we have abilities. We're different from the rest." Her smile was still plastered on her face. "No normal mortal could avoid a strike that fast Percy. Your instincts took over." Whatever was going on, Percy still didn't quite get it.

"Okay, I think that's enough for today, Percy." Mark's voice reminded Percy of the fact that he was still in the room with them, and it made Percy somewhat embarrassed.

"Remember, we'll meet here for training every day we can. **Salvete, discipuli**." With that, his teacher left the gym. Ever the mystery.

Percy turned to Reyna who looked more collected and somewhat more somber than a few moments ago.

"What happened?" He asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean your smile. You hardly smile. And when you do it's for a moment before you're back to your neutral attitude. What happened Reyna?" As long as he got some time, he'd like to figure it out. They were in this together, if what they told him could be true.

Reyna turned down her gaze and a few moments of silence passed between them. "I see hope in you, Percy." She finally answered in a low voice, almost a whisper.

"Hope? Hope for what? And why me? Look at me I almost got killed off yesterday."

"We all start from somewhere. And I know you can do great things. You're powerful. Even if you don't realize it yet. And that's why I smile so rarely."

"You smile because I'm powerful? Shouldn't I be smiling about that?" He asked.

Another snicker escaped her lips. "I smile, Percy, because of the hope in you. I believe in you, and so does the **magistre**." She said as she picked up the equipment and returned it to the closet. Percy didn't know what to say.

From there she continued to the gym door, slid it open and turned to him once again. "Please don't make lose hope again." She gave a small wave, and the last thing Percy saw before she left was another small smile on her lips as she walked away.

That night, laying on his bed, Percy was deep in thought. He was still processing the information dump of the last day. He was half a god, so was Reyna. His Latin teacher _definitely_ has some unresolved mysteries about him, and he was giving them both hope for the future for some reason. Did that anything to do with what he saw before? That woman who told him about 'the son of the sea'?

With those thoughts in mind, Percy drifted off to sleep.

The warehouse door creaked heavily as they opened. Alerting the men inside of the newcomer. The men turned to see whoever came running towards them at a quick pace. Clearly he was panicked.

When he reached them, the man fell to the ground and bowed deep. His head lying on the gravel before the men.

"Is it done, **Servus**?" One of the men asked, his voice distorted and unnatural.

The groveling man before them could be heard drawing deep breaths and letting them out in quick succession. He was clearly panicking.

"Please, Master, forgive the foolish one who though that a single **monstrum** would be enough to take down a dawning godling." The man spoke quickly and timidly.

" **Domina** would be most displeased, **servus**. You know how hard she's working to expel any sort of remnant of Roman trash that pops up around here right?" The man's voice became even more distorted, and a sinister tone made itself known as he finished talking.

The bowing man simply remained silent, his body beginning to shiver.

"Send something better for him, **servus**. After all you don't break a diamond with a hammer. And this time you better hope that the he's wiped from the face of the earth, or you'll take his place. Are we clear on this?" The voice asked.

"Yes, master. Clear as crystal. **Domina** won't have to worry about him for long." The bowing man answered.

"Oh I hope so. Or you'll regret ever saying the **Domina** 's name in my presence again. Leave." The voice commanded.

With a whimper, the other man quickly got up, left, and closed the door behind him, its creaking echo burned into his mind.

* * *

 **Hey guys and girls and welcome to the tenth chapter of GP.**

 **Almost a hundred favorites, never thought I'd reach that.**

 **As usual thank you for your feedback and reviews.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **See you next time,**

 **T.I**


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